The very language of Genesis defies scientific investigation. Genesis describes God bringing forth His creation in an orderly process, and culminating in the creation of humankind. This creation He sees as “very good.” This is the language of metaphor, not journalistic accounting or scientific observation. It serves perfectly well as a metaphysical description.

To the extent creation theory seizes upon this metaphorical account to explain the whole process was instantaneous over six days, including the appearance of two humans from which all humans derive, is, let’s say, very unlikely, even though possible. The evidence is that the Genesis account is true, but in the same way a poem is true, while evolution [both of galaxies and humans] is the process the poem captures metaphorically.

The anti-creationists go to the other extreme however in attacking intelligent design as unworthy of scientific consideration. This antagonism is the result of science turned “scientistic.” Scientism, like fundamentalist religion, holds that there are no realities outside its own sphere.

The evidence is overwhelming that there is order in the way the universe operates according to essential natural laws, such as gravity, electromagnetism, atomic structure, the conservation of matter, and “irreducible complexity.” The question is whether order implies purpose?

But scientism will not even entertain a plausible hypothesis that there is design, for to do so would lead to a theory of God, an idea that is threatening. Perhaps this sense of fear and threat is the result of the Church’s suppression of free thought when it opposed Church doctrine in centuries past. This outcome is sad, for there is no real conflict between science and religion.